Sam Et Jeanne

Two big deaths recently, Sam Shepard and Jeanne Moreau.

I would expect Shepard is better known as an actor than writer to most people--he was in some high profile projects. But I've always thought of him as a playwright who happens to act.

I remember seeing his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Buried Child, and later, True West.  He captured something dark but true about the American character.  And he could write poetically but still make it sound natural. (I think True West will be the play of his that lives on because it's so much fun for the two leads.)

Jeanne Moreau was a force of nature, the leading lady of French cinema.  She was memorable, even iconic, in so many roles, such as Elevator To The Gallows, The Lovers, and Diary Of A Chambermaid.

But if you had to pick one, it's Catherine in Jules And Jim.  She stands for so many women in that part, but is always herself.